Free Forbidden Entry by Sylvia Nobel Page A

look.
    â€œShe’s right. Jenessa of all people would know better.” With that she burst into heaving sobs again and I knew it was time for me to go.
    Rising, I murmured to Ginger, “I’m going to leave you two alone now,” and then added, “Marcelene, if there is anything at all that I can do to help, just name it.”
    Ginger pinned me with a meaningful look that left me perplexed. She jumped up and then bent down to kiss her aunt’s cheek. “I’ll be right back, darlin’.”
    She practically pushed me out the door into the lobby. Closing it behind her, she whispered fiercely, “Sugar, I need to talk to you for a minute.”
    â€œSure. What’s up?”
    She grabbed my elbow and steered me towards the big, potted fern in the far corner of the lobby. “Okay, here’s the deal.” She drew in a deep breath. “Maybe I’m full of it up to my ever lovin’ eyeballs, but…did you ever get one of those tickly feelings that kinda roll around inside your belly? The kinda feeling that tells you something just ain’t quite right?”
    â€œSure. All the time. What’s going on, Ginger?”
    She shook her head slowly. “I don’t really know how to put it into words except…well…something’s not right.”
    The fact that she was echoing my exact thoughts bothered me. “What do you mean?”
    â€œIt wasn’t these kids’ first rodeo. I remember Aunt Marcelene and Uncle Arnold taking Jen along on camping trips from the time she was an itty, bitty toddler. As for Nathan, well, Jenessa told me that he’s…he was a real super jock. Besides hiking, mountain climbing, zip lining and riding his quad all over creation, she said he was into extreme sports like base jumping, skydiving, rappelling off cliffs an’ flying around in one o’ them wing suits like a danged bat. I went online and watched a couple of videos he’d posted. He did some crazy stunts.” She folded her arms and locked eyes with me. “So, don’t you think he’d know better than to do something so boneheaded?”
    â€œGinger, you know I’m always looking for a good story angle, but I just finished talking with Marshall. Even though there are a couple of things that seem questionable, right now the initial assumption is accidental death, so that’s what I’m dealing with unless something else comes to light. And remember, nothing is definitive until the investigation is complete but, just for the sake of argument, how about I play devil’s advocate, okay?”
    She frowned skepticism, but said, “Okay.”
    I filled her in on everything Marshall had told me with the exception of what he’d asked me to keep confidential. “So, the question is, considering what must have been dire circumstances, does it sound plausible that they opted to use the charcoal grill for heat rather than freeze to death?”
    â€œI suppose it’s possible,” she said grudgingly.
    â€œAnd if, as you say, they were seasoned outdoors people, they would already know the dangers of using it in an enclosed area, right?”
    â€œI’m thinking yes.”
    I palmed my hands skyward. “So, it stands to reason that they obviously didn’t plan to fall asleep, but did and were overcome by the fumes. Given what we know now, what other explanation is there?”
    She pursed her lips appearing uncertain. “Well, I guess that all sounds real logical, but…”
    â€œBut what?”
    Her golden eyes signaled doubt. “You know what? Maybe I’ve been hanging around you too long or watching too many crime shows on TV, whatever, but something about this don’t pass the smell test and I can’t tell you why.”
    As the significance of her assertion slowly sunk in, another wave of uneasiness settled over me. “Ginger, are you suggesting that it was not an